Leather trimming device



Nov. 27, 1951 R. w. HALL 2,576,878

LEATHER TRIMMING DEVICE Filed June 50, 1950 INVENTOR. R LPH W. HALL TEA 10 Patented Nov. 27, 19.51

LEATHER TRIMMING DEVICE Ralph W. Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to The Randall Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2. corporation of Ohio Application June 30, 1950, Serial No. 171,293

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a leather trimming device for rounding or beveling the edges of a leather sheet.

An object of this invention is to provide a trimming device for rounding or beveling the edges of a leather sheet which includes an integral stop for automatically limiting the length of the bevel or the extent to which the device can cut into the body of the leather sheet.

A further object of this invention is to provide a device of this type having a rotating cutting head in which is embodied the stop referred to above.

A further object of this invention is to provide a device of this type having a stop adapted to guide the leather sheet through the cutters around curved edges as well as along straight edges of a leather sheet without cutting away or removing leather from the central part of the sheet, that is without removing leather from that part of the edge of the sheet in contact with said stop.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will in part be apparent and will in part be obvious from the following detailed description, and the drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in section showing a leather trimming device constructed in accordance with an embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view in section showing the head of the trimming device;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view in section taken along a line III-III in Fig. 2 showing the cutting head in position to trim both margins of a leather sheet;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view in section showing the cutting head in position to trim only a single margin of the leather sheet; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view in section showing the cutting head of a cutter constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of this invention, the cutter being shown in position for trimming one margin of a leather sheet.

In the following detailed description, and the.

drawing, like reference characters indicate like parts.

As shown in Fig. 1, the device includes a table l having a circular opening 12 to accommodate a shaft i3. Shaft i3 is driven by a motor I4 located below the table.

The shaft carries a pair of circular milling cutters l and I! between which a spacer disc I8 is mounted. The teeth of the cutters are arranged to trim opposite faces of the leather sheet 19 along the margins thereof. The disc forms a stop whereby the depth of cut by the cutters can be limited. v

As shown at 2! in Fig. 2, adjacent or facing sides of the teeth are rounded or radiused-so 2 that the teeth will trim the margins of the leather sheet and shape the edges thereof to conform to the shape of the rounded parts of the teeth. The stop disc is of such diameter that the inner edges of surfaces 2| terminate substantially flush with the rim of disc i8. Thus, the trimmed or rounded margins of the edge of the sheet merge into the central portion of the edge of the leather sheet that abuts the rim of disc i8. The cutters are so disposed and spaced that the outer edges of the teeth, which are parallel to the table, lie substantially flatwise against the opposite sides or faces of the leather sheet as the cutters trim the margins of the sheet.

The stop disc I8 is somewhat thinner than the leather sheet, and the shaft and cutters are preferably so disposed that when the leather sheet is on the table, the disc is on the center line of the sheet and the cutters trim equal amounts from the opposite margins of the leather sheet. The thickness of disc 98 determines the length of the beveled or rounded portion and the width of the portion of the edge which is untrimmed.

The table is raised or lowered by turning a handle 22 of a jack screw 23 which is threaded in a stationary bracket or support member 24. The table is stabilized against rotation by a vertical positioning rod 26 which is attached to the table and is slidably mounted in a socket 26' in bracket member 24. Bracket member 25 carries motor [4 which drives the cutters.

As shown in Fig. 2, the cutters l6 and I! are held in place on shaft is by a pair of retainer discs 21' and 21. Each of discs 2! and 2'! is provided on one face thereof with an annular shoulder 28 at the periphery thereof. When the cutters are assembled, shoulders 28 engage the cutters l5 and il as shown and serve to brace the teeth and rigidity the cutters.

As shown in Fig. 2, not only the edges 2! of the cutters, which are in position for trimming the leather sheet, are rounded, but also the opposite or outer edges 29 are similarly rounded but may be of different radius and contour.

Thus, upon reversing the cutters, edges of a leather sheet may be trimmed to a different contour or the cutters may be adapted for use in trimming a leather sheet of a different thickness.

The machine illustrated in the drawing is particularly designed for trimming the margins of a leather sheet on both faces thereof in a single operation. However, if the table is raised as shown in Fig. 4 sufiiciently so that the lower edge of the lower cutter engages leather sheet 30, the upper margin alone is trimmed. When the cutting head is in this position, the lower retainer disc 2'! serves as a stop to prevent the cutters from cutting away the lower of sheet 29.

portion of the edge In Fig. 5 is shown a leather trimming device which is designed to trim the lower margin of a leather sheet 3|. The device shown in Fig. 5 is generally similar in construction to the device shown in the other drawings with the exception that upper retainer disc 32 is provided with an outwardly extending flange 33 which serves to hold down and guide the leather sheet against the upper cutting edge of the upper cutter whereby the upper cutter trims the lower margin of the leather sheet. In this form of the device, shoulder 34 on the upper retainer disc below flange 33 forms the stop. The device of Fig. 5 is adapted to trim either the upper or the lower margin of the leather sheet or both margins at one time depending on the height at which the table is set.

The stop discs automatically limit the extent the cutting teeth can penetrate the leather sheet. When both margins are trimmed in a single operation, the stop disc between the cutters engages the central portion of the edge of the leather sheet. When only one edge is to be trimmed, one of the retainer discs acts as the stop member. The stop members limit the extent the cutting teeth can penetrate the leather sheet and act as stops not only during trimming of straight edges of the leather sheet but also as the cutters trim rounded or irregular edges.

The devices illustrated in the drawing and described above are subject to structural modification without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device for edge-trimming a leather sheet which comprises a horizontal table having an opening therein, a vertical shaft extending through said opening, means for turning said shaft, a flat stop disc mounted on said shaft immediately above said opening, said stop disc be ing of lesser thickness than the leather sheet, a pair of flat cutter discs mounted on said shaft on opposite sides of the stop disc and engaging flush against the respective faces of the stop disc, the periphery of each cutter disc extending beyond the periphery of the stop disc, there being a plurality of teeth in the periphery of each cutter disc, each tooth having a quarter round cutting face having an outeredge parallel to and spaced from the stop disc and an inner edge tangent to the edge of the stop disc, the spacing between the outer edges of the teeth in said discs being equal to the thickness of the leather sheet, each tooth of the respective discs having a projection extending outwardly therefrom between which projections the leather sheet is received, the outer edges of the teeth of the lower disc being aligned with the top of the table, each projection having its inner face tangent to the outer edge of its tooth, whereby said projections engage and lie substantially flatwise against opposite faces of the leather sheet when on the table to guide the margins of the sheet against the cutting faces of the teeth as the cutters trim the margins of the sheet.

2. A device for edge-trimming leather sheets comprising a horizontal table, there being a round aperture in said table, a rotatable vertical shaft mounted on said frame and coaxial with said aperture in said table, said shaft being provided adjacent its upper end with a section of reduced diameter mounted upon said vertical shaft, an upwardly concave reinforcing collar abutting the shoulder formed at the lower end of said portion of reduced diameter, a cutter mounted on said Lil shaft and resting upon said reinforcing collar, a spacing collar mounted on said shaft and resting upon said cutter, a second cutter on said shaft and resting upon said spacing collar, a downwardly concave collar mounted on said shaft and resting upon said second cutter, a nut retaining said collars on said shaft and clamping said collars toward each other, said collars engaging the cutters adjacent the peripheries thereof, whereby the peripheries of the cutters are rigidly held against the spacing collar, said collars and cutters presenting a cylindrical head assembly from which spaced annular rows of teeth radially project, said teeth presenting cutting edges comprising a pair of concave arcuate portions tangential at their outer ends to radii of said cylindrical head and at their inner ends being tangentially met by the surface of said spacing collar, and an outwardly extending projection on each tooth having its faces tangential to the outer ends of the concave arcuate portions thereof for guiding the margins of a leather sheet against the cutting edges of the teeth.

3. A device for shaping an edge of a leather sheet which comprises a substantially horizontal table having an opening therein, a shaft extending through said opening and substantially perpendicular to said table, means for rotating said shaft, a flat stop disc mounted on said shaft in said opening, said stop disc being of lesser thickness than the sheet, a pair of milling cutters mounted on said shaft on opposite sides of said stop disc, one face of each cutter disc engaging and being flush against one of the faces of the stop disc, a pair of retainer discs, each retainer disc being mounted on the outside of one of the cutters, each of the cutters having a plurality of teeth extending outwardly beyond the peripheral edges of the stop disc, the upper and lower faces of each of said teeth each terminating in a cutting face adapted to trim a margin of the leather sheet, the upper retainer disc having a stop shoulder extending upwardly from the upper faces of the teeth of the upper cutter disc, an outwardly extending horizontal flange on the upper retainer disc spaced above the upper cutter and overhanging the edge of the opening in the table, the lower cutter having a stop shoulder extending downwardly from and inside the lower cutter, and means for raising and lowering the table with respect to the cutters from a middle position in which the cutters are adapted to trim both margins of the leather sheet when the sheet rests on the table to a raised position in which the flange of the upper retainer disc is adapted to hold the leather sheet with the lower margin thereof in engagement with the teeth of the upper cutter to trim the lower margin of the leather sheet and to a lowered position in which the upper margin of the leather sheet is engageable with the lower cutter to trim the upper margin of the leather sheet.

RALPH W. HALL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 947,462 Spieth Jan. 25, 1910 1,207,474 Bedard Dec. 5, 1916 1,459,534 Hilker June 19, 1923 1,737,351 Bammer Nov. 26, 1929 1,742,217 Renwick Jan. 7, 1930 2,193,359 Haas Mar. 12, 1940 

